Artist Biography

Zawyeh Gallery Asad Azi Zawyeh Gallery Asad Azi

Asad Azi was born in Shfaram in 1955. In his youth he began to create figurative sculptures influenced by the art of the Near East. He studied in a high school in Kiryat Ata. In the 1970s he published three books of poetry. In the second half of the decade he studied art at the University of Haifa. During this period he worked primarily in stone sculpture. After finishing his studies he went to study in Carrara, Italy and later to Nigeria. In 1981 he moved to Tel Aviv. He was one of the founders of the group “Rega” [Moment]. In 1982 he was involved in the strike by the Druze population in the Golan Heights and was one of the implementers of the first festival of “The Center for the Palestinian Heritage” in Taibe. In 1986 he represented Israel in the Venice Biennale.

From the 1980s on Azi has worked primarily in the medium of painting. His figurative works deal primarily with the concept of self-identity in the expressive style. In his work he combines images and connections from the history of European art with folkloristic images taken from Druze society. Azi has published many articles and studies in the local Arabic newspapers and has received several awards. He has set up more than 17 solo exhibitions and has participated in more than 50 collective exhibitions locally and internationally. He currently lives and teaches art in Yaffa.